Of Phonecalls and Fights
by stacieneversleeps
Summary: Burt stiffens. At first, Burt thinks that he only does that because of the perceived insult to his child. It takes a few minutes for him to realise that there's a second reason. It's the voice. That voice. The voice from the phone call. The voice that called his son a fag.


**Title:** Of Phonecalls and Fights

**Characters: **Burt, Mr Berry, Mr Berry, Kurt, Rachel, Puck, Carole, New Directions (and their parents)

**Pairings:** Burt/Carole, Puck/Kurt

**Warnings:** Swearing, homophobic language, implied violence

**Spoilers: **Up to Audition

**Disclaimer: **Glee does not – and never will – belong to me.

**Summary: **Burt stiffens. At first, Burt thinks that he only does that because of the perceived insult to his child. It takes a few minutes for him to realise that there's a second reason. It's the voice. _That_ voice. The voice from the phone call. The voice that called his son a _fag._

**A/N: **Okay, first Puckurt posting! :) I was going to post this as a prompt, before I realised that the prompt had so much detail, I'd probably do a better job writing myself, to get what I wanted. So... Voila! (Also, Unbeta'd)

Burt Hummel likes music as much as the next man. A bit of John Mellencamp playing while he worked at the shop; maybe some Billy Joel while he puttered about the house. Show tunes and that fruity eighties rock that the Glee Club of his son's liked to sing was not something he enjoyed, however. Bon Jovi, he could take. Journey, too, on occasion. Even some of the songs from those musicals Kurt loves – and Marianne had loved – aren't too bad. Burt just isn't sure whether he can stomach a whole two hours of them.

He'll do it, though. He'll do it because his baby boy asked him to come. Kurt's eyes had been wide and hopeful, and there was no way Burt could have said no to them. (He'd never been able to say no Kurt. Ever.) So Burt had agreed immediately, and that's why he's here, in his best jeans and a smart blue shirt, to see his son's Glee Club perform a special, intimate concert for their parents and guardians. Burt is more than sure that he's not the only parent who's willing to donate money, and support them through other means, without thanks, but, even so, the thanks is nice.

Burt isn't Will Schuester's biggest fan. In fact, Burt doesn't like the teacher _at all_. But even he can admit that Schuester puts on a good show. Plus, Schuester has, surprisingly from what Kurt's told him, veered from his usual Rachel Berry Show: each kid in the club has a solo, keeping their parents happy. Burt isn't stupid enough to think that the man's done that for any reason other than to ensure that the donations keep coming in.

Still, it's nice to hear his boy singing almost half a song by himself. Kurt's really got a voice and a half. Just like his mom. Marianne has been in Glee Club when they were at school. Lead, just like that Rachel girl. Better voice than that Rachel, too. His Marianne put her whole heart into her singing – which is more than the current lead does. Burt thinks she's a bit screechy and has about as much emotion as his _tire iron_. Which is to say, none at all.

As they all leave the stage for a costume change – which, Burt assumes, is down to his son – Burt glances about at the other parents. Dr and Mrs Jones, Mercedes' parents, are a few seats down from him and Carole. Lauren, Brittany's mom, is sitting beside Carole, but her husband is missing, due to commitments at work. The mother of the mohawked delinquent (the boy Kurt thinks is a suitable boyfriend) is sitting beside Lauren, and Burt can hear the three of them gushing over something or someone.

He resolves to sit beside Harry, Artie's dad, next time. The guy is chatting away to that Gothic girl's dad, Mr Cohen-Chang – Burt has a feeling that his name is David or Dave or something like that . Burt thinks that, despite knowing Lauren since high school and dating Carole for over a year, he would be _much_ more comfortable with the other two men.

He spots Mrs Lopez – Maria, Burt remembers from her oil change last week – typing away on her cell, while half-heartedly paying attention to the conversation taking place beside her, between Judy Fabray – a woman Burt has a strong dislike for after she threw out her daughter the year before – and the parents of the new kid, Sam. He stifles a laugh when he notices that all three – Judy and Sam's parents (Burt vaguely recollects hearing Carole call them Joe and Anne when they came in for replacement break pads the other day) – have almost the _exact_ same shade of hair.

Two Asian people – a man and a woman – are sitting by themselves, talking away in what Burt thinks is Chinese. (Unfortunately, his only experience of Chinese is from the local take-out, so his theory doesn't hold much weight.) As far as he can tell, they're Mike Chang's parents. From what he can remember, Kurt said that they own the local florists (either that or the butcher's – his isn't sure which). Will Schuester is sitting a few seats down from them, grinning proudly, and chatting away to some redhead, wearing a bright yellow polka dot blouse. The guidance counsellor, he assumes. According to Kurt, she's the only teacher in the school who '_can actually dress herself to a standard suitable for going out in pu__blic_', and Burt tries to pretend that it isn't weird that he remember that verbatim – or that he actually agrees.

He turns slightly in his seat to glance behind him, and notices two men. One is tall and black (Burt pauses to wonder if that's politically correct, and decides to ask Kurt later) with short dark hair, and a bit of a moustache. The other is shorter and white (again, PC?) with glasses and abnormally thick eyebrows. It doesn't take long for him to work out that these men are Rachel Berry's famous '_two_ _gay dads_'.

(Burt really doesn't mean that in a bad way. It's just how Kurt and Finn and Mohawk refer to them. But, again, he wonders if it's PC to call them that. He doesn't think so, but he'll ask Kurt later.)

Burt decides to talk to them later. He loves Kurt with all of his heart, but sometimes, he finds it hard to understand Kurt. Maybe speaking to two gay, happy parents will help him with Kurt. He knows that they'll have gone through hell in their teenage years (from idiot jocks like him, that voice in his head which sounds just like Kurt says) but, from what he's heard, the two seem like nice enough guys. Clearly, they got through it. Hopefully, they'll have tips to help him help Kurt through it.

"When will our star be on again?" Burt hears one of them ask as he turns back around.

"_The_ star, you mean," The other one replies. "I don't know. I'm getting sick of those amateur singers. Our angel's a professional. She should be on lead vocals the whole time."

Burt stiffens. At first, Burt thinks that he only does that because of the perceived insult to his child. It takes a few minutes for him to realise that there's a second reason. It's the voice. _That_ voice. The voice from the phone call. The voice that called his son a _fag._

He can't believe it at first. Why would this man, a _gay_ man, call his son something that he'd probably been called thousands of times? Why would he victimise a child in the same way he's been victimised? Why? Why? _Why?_

But, no matter how much he doesn't want to believe that his son's friend's (gay) father called his baby boy a fag, Burt knows that he did. He would recognise that voice anyway.

That fucking _bastard, _Burt screams internally.

At least, he thought that he'd screamed it internally. From the gasps of shock, and Carole's hand on his arm, he realises that he shouted it aloud.

"Mr Hummel," Schuester begins, his smile replaced by a worried frown. "Is there something wrong?"

And that just sets Burt off. He had been planning on waiting until after the concert had finished before dealing with Mr Berry, but he's said too much for that now. He just wants to beat the shit out of that bastard for what he did to their family, to his son.

"Something wrong?" Burt echoes, voice loud and angry. "Why don't you fucking ask Mr Berry here?"

"I'm sorry," The tall, black Mr Berry says. It was him. The phone call. "I don't quite understand what you're talking about."

"Dad?"

Burt glances around at Kurt, standing on the stage, with Mohawk's arm around his waist, surrounded by the other Glee kids. He looks so small compared to that muscle-bound jock. So small and vulnerable. So sweet and innocent. So loving and forgiving. How could anyone want to hurt him?

"Do you know what you did to us?" Burt asks Mr Berry, ignoring his son's worried . "What you did to _him_?" He points at Kurt, who's frowning in confusion, and leaning further into Puck's side.

"I really have no idea..."

"You fucking called my son, my _baby_, a fag!"

Burt's pretty sure that you could hear a pin drop in the silence that follows his statement. He doesn't care. He really fucking doesn't care.

"We have no..."

"Oh, stop with the fucking lies." Burt's sure that he's not sworn this much since he was a teenager. "Last year, you called my shop and kindly informed me that my son was a fag!"

Burt hears Kurt's hitched gasp on the stage, and wants to comfort him, but he's too worked up now to do anything other than tear this bastard a new one. A quick peek shows him that Puck's wrapped Kurt in his arms, and for now, that's enough.

"I did..." The man pauses, seeing Burt's furious glower. He nods his head, and says, "Fine, I did it. I called your shop."

Burt is silent for a few moments, waiting for him to say something more. "That's it. You called my shop, you gave me abuse, you insulted my son, and all you have to say is 'I did it'?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"That you're _sorry?"_ Burt replies, looking at the man as if he's an idiot. Which Burt is pretty sure he is.

Mr Berry raises an eyebrow at him. "Why would I apologise if I'm not sorry for what I did?"

Burt lets out an inhuman growl, and steps down the aisle to the seats directly in front of the Berrys. He feels Carole's hand on his elbow, tugging it gently, but he ignores her, intent on burning Mr Berry alive with nothing more than a look.

"Burt, seriously, do not do something you'll regret," Carole warns him quietly. "If you hurt this... _man_," and it's easy for Burt to hear the disgust she feels towards Mr Berry, "you'll go to jail. How would Kurt cope if you were locked up?"

Burt takes a deep breath and nods. Carole's right. Of course she's right. He just really wants to fucking punch that piece of shit.

"Our daughter wanted us to do something because your son tried to steal her solo. We only did what was right!" Mr Berry tells him as Burt begins to walk back to his original seat. The man pulls himself up to his full height, glaring angrily at Burt, who freezes stock still.

"You didn't do what was right! You victimised a sixteen year old boy! You victimised _my baby_! You _made_ him blow that note!" He screams, and he won't lie – he totally gets this burst of satisfaction when both Mr Berrys flinch.

"Blow that note?" Rachel echoes from the stage, her voice rising in pitch with each word. "What are you talking about? Kurt _missed the note_!"

"Kurt didn't miss nothing," Burt tells her. "My boy can hit that note. He missed it because he wanted to spare me more grief. He didn't want me to go through what he does on a daily basis!"

Burt can hear his boy outright sobbing on the stage, but he needs to deal with this first. Another glance at the stage, and he sees Puck hugging Kurt tightly, with Mercedes stroking his hair, and Finn standing protectively in front of them.

It's only when Carole elbows him that he realises that Mr Berry (the black one, and no, he doesn't give a shit if it isn't PC) has started talking again.

"... not as if your son is going to get anywhere in life, is it? Our daughter is going to be a star. She deserves the solo," he's saying, and Burt frowns, because his argument doesn't even make sense – and the bastard's insulting his boy.

"I think you'll find, _Berry_, that my boy's going to be more than a star. He'll _own_ that fucking stage. From what I've been told, and from what I've heard, your daughter's screechy and overbearing, as well as showing about as much emotion as a corpse. She's generic. There's plenty of girls who could do the same fucking job," Burt sneers, hands clenched in fists at his side. "How many boys have the same range as my son? He's different; he's got that edge. He'd _school_ your daughter in any audition."

"Our daughter is going to Juilliard," The other Mr Berry says proudly.

Kurt laughs from the stage. It's a watery laugh, but a laugh all the same. "Juilliard? That's a good one," he says, hands clenching and unclenching furiously, just like Burt's, and stepping to the front of the stage. "Juilliard is a school for classically trained singers and musicians. Broadway classics do _not_ count as classical songs. Classical are songs from _The Marriage of Figaro_ and _Carmen_ and _The Magic Flute_ and _A Midsummer Night's Dream_! She won't be accepted there. She doesn't even know the meaning of the word classical!"

Burt grins because it's clear that his boy has inherited his temper. The Berrys – all three of them – are spluttering angrily, but all Burt can do it grin.

"How dare you?" The white Mr Berry yells, directing his words at Kurt. Burt only just manages to restrain himself from jumping over the chairs and beating the asshole to a pulp for speaking to his son like that. "You have _no_ _idea_ what you're talking about!"

"No idea?" Kurt repeats. He shakes his head and sighs in a put-upon way. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and begins to sing. "_Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix comme s'ouvren__t les fleurs aux baisers de l'aurore!_"

Burt notices with pride that Kurt has shocked the whole room into silence as he belts out the beginning of the beautiful aria (yes, he does know its proper name). He only sings the first few lines, but Burt's sure that he's made more of an impact with that than the rest of the concert did as a whole. His boy's voice soars and swoops, hitting note after perfect note. His voice never wavers, never strains, never comes close to missing a note. Burt's never been so proud in his life. Damn, that boy really does have a voice on him.

"That..." Kurt says shakily when he stops singing. "_That_ is classical music."

Kurt's friends on the stage – with the exception of the Berry girl – and all of the assembled parents in the audience – excluding Mr and Mr Berry – burst into a thunderous applause. Carole and Lauren are wiping tears from their eyes beside him, and Burt can see Mercedes and Quinn doing the same on stage.

"You're nothing but..."

"You say another word, Berry," Puck says from the stage, pushing Kurt behind him, and scowling menacingly at the man, "And I'll kick your fucking ass, got it?"

Burt's got to hand it to the boy. He might look, act and speak like a juvenile delinquent, but he's got a good heart in him. He'll take care of Kurt. Burt knows it, and from the tears in his eyes, Kurt knows it to. Kurt's arms wrap around Puck's waist from behind, and, as much as he hates to admit it, Burt thinks that they make a good couple. Puck's mom sighs a few seats down from him, and he knows that she's thinking the same thing.

"Mr Berry, Mr Berry," Mr Schuester says, speaking up for the first time since his words at the start of the argument. "I think that it might be better if you left."

"What? It was that animal who started this argument! We did nothing wrong!"

"You victimised and bullied a child into giving up something which meant a lot to him." Mr Schuester sounds nothing short of furious. "That is not acceptable behaviour, ever. Please, just go."

Burt decides that maybe Schuester isn't such a bad guy after all. He still isn't his biggest fan, but he's definitely gone up in Burt's rankings.

"You can't do that to my dads!" Rachel cries, rushing to the edge of the stage. "I deserved the solo anyway. Kurt was never going to get it!"

Quinn scoffs. "Listen, man-hands, up until that note, Kurt sung the song ten times better than you did. I was going to vote for him before the high F."

"Me, too," Artie says, nodding in agreement. "Kurt sung it with _emotion_. You were monotone."

After everyone on the stage has agreed with Quinn – with the sole exception of Sam, who wasn't there for the Diva-Off – Burt watches as Rachel Berry seems to deflate. He knows that he should feel sorry for her, but, truthfully, he thinks that she deserves it for what she said about his son. How dare she imply that he wasn't good enough to get the solo? _Bitch_.

Rachel runs from the room, and Burt sees her fathers hum and haw over whether to go after her or continue their argument.

"Schuester said to go, so fucking _scram_!" Burt says through gritted teeth, and the two men grab their things and walk quickly from the room. "You ever say anything like that about my son again, and you'll have my fucking shotgun to deal with!"

Everyone sort of lets out a breath when the two men leave the room. Burt's still angry, his body thrumming with pent up fury, but as soon as he feel that little body collide with his back, it all seems to drain away, leaving him calm and relaxed again. Kurt's arms are wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing him with more strength than Burt knew his son had. He turns around, and wraps his arms around Kurt's neck, pulling him closer.

"I love you, daddy," Kurt says softly.

"Love you, too, baby."

A calm silence falls over the room, each of them contemplating the lengths two men would go to in order to secure their daughter a solo, as the rest of the kids come pouring from the stage.

"Think she's coming back?" Mercedes asks, glancing at her friends.

"No offence, Finn," Artie begins, looking at the tall boy apologetically. Finn shrugs. "But I really hope she doesn't this time. I don't know if I can put up with her any longer. She's going to drive me to drink."

Most of the room – except Schuester and the guidance counsellor and Judy Fabray – laugh heartily at Artie's honest words. The parents all know that they shouldn't, but from what they've seen – and been told about her – truer words have never been spoken.

Puck's panicked voice breaks through the laughter a few seconds later. "Wait, Kurt, I thought you said that your dad didn't own a shotgun."

Burt laughs harder.


End file.
